JA Programs | Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida

JA Global Marketplace® Blended Model

JA Global Marketplace Blended Model introduces middle school students (Grades 6-8) to the global marketplace and the ways in which countries buy and sell from each other. Through completion of this program, students will gain an understanding of producers and consumers in the interconnected global market. They will analyze the similarities and differences among countries and the effects of free enterprise.

Basic implementation includes Sessions One–Six delivered by the volunteer.

Advanced implementation includes Sessions One–Six delivered by the volunteer and Session Seven delivered by the teacher or volunteer.

Basic or advanced implementation depends on educator requirements and correlations to local standards. Contact your local JA Area staff to find out which implementation will be used.

All JA programs are designed to support the skills and competencies identified by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. JA programs also correlate to state standards in social studies, English, and mathematics, and to Common Core State Standards.

Junior Achievement USA gratefully acknowledges HSBC for its dedication to the development and implementation of the middle school financial literacy program JA Global Marketplace.

Program Sessions

Session One: Business and Customer (volunteer-led)

Students learn about the relationship between businesses and their customers and the mutually beneficial exchange of products and services. As they explore the global marketplace, students connect well-known products and businesses to their countries of origin.

Session Two: Business and Culture (volunteer-led)

Students learn that businesses must understand cultural differences in order to meet customers' needs and make a profit in different countries. By examining the different habits of international customers, students learn about international etiquette and broaden their perspectives.

Session Three: Global Trade (volunteer-led)

Students learn that businesses trade in order to obtain products and services that customers want or need. Students learn about imports and exports, examine the ways technology has improved international trade, and participate in a global trade game.

Session Four: Why Countries Specialize (volunteer-led)

Students learn that modern countries cannot provide all of the products and services that their people want and need. Therefore, businesses in different countries focus their efforts on specializing in specific resources or producing smaller parts of a product. Students look at examples of specialized global manufacturing, discuss how it affects trade, and consider the trade-offs of interdependence.

Session Five: Trade Barriers (volunteer-led)

Students explore the types of restrictions that governments place on international trade. They learn about tariffs, quotas, subsidies, and standards and how these barriers affect governments, businesses, and customers.

Session Six: Currency (volunteer-led)

Students explore the concept of international currencies. They learn about variable exchange rates, currency converters, and how to compare the prices of products from around the world.

Session Seven: Global Workforce (volunteer- or teacher-led)

Students take on the role of international business owners, reviewing the skills and experience of potential employees to learn about skills what's required to be competitive in the global marketplace.